'The Amazing Race' introduces its cast

Having missed out on its eighth-straight Emmy, "The Amazing Race"had nothing else to do this week than take the wraps off the cast for its upcoming 17th season.

The 11 pairs of contestants lack the semi-celebs of recent installments - unless you count GemsTV pitchwomen and a not-very-successful beach volleyball team.

Also missing this season - and I think this is a first - are any married couples. There are, however, four all-women teams, as the show apparently is intent on breaking the 0-for-16 run of female pairs.

The Watcher always enjoys the bizarre relationship captions that "TAR" provides the pairings. We don't have anything quite so charming as Dating Goths or Dating 12 Years/Virgins this season, but we do have the first incidents of Home Shopping Hosts, Birth Mother/Daughter and Ivy League A Cappella Singers.

The 32,000-mile Race sounds intriguing, with the show's first visits to Bangladesh, Ghana and the Arctic Circle.

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